Liquid dispensing apparatus



Jan. 18, 1944. w. B. wLLAMs 3 3 I I LIQUID DSFENSING APPARATUS Filed March 31, 1943 INVENTOR.

#rrom/575 4 Patents& Jan. 189, 1944 LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Walter B. Williams, Glendale, Long Island, N. Y.,

assignor to Nu-Gran Co., Gle'ndale; N. Y'.`, a p'artnership composed of Walter lB." Williams' and Dorothy Walter Application March 31, 1943, Serial No. 481317 (Cl. azisn 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to liquid dispensing apparatus and, more particularly, to' such apparatus adapted for dispensingliquid material therefrom to a transfer member upon contact by the latter of dispensing m'echanism of. the former.

A` generalobject of the present invention is the provision of such apparatus which is of simple and economical Construction andwhich' can be readily and easily employed to dispense to a transfer member, such as a brush, a controlled flow of a particular liquid, and which is adapted to ready adjustment and/or manipulation to alter the rate of!` flow as maybe desired.

A more specific object of the inventionis to provide such apparatus which is characterized by a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof so supportable as to provide a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent elastic ma terial positioned in the walled opening to close it while presenting its outward end for wiping engagement by a transfer member to dispense to the latter contained liquid with the plug sealingly engaging in an effective manner the wall of the opening for an appreciable depth, andan elongated member projecting from theopening with its inner end positioned'at a desired depth between the plug and opening wall to provide an air passage between the two thereby toreduce in an efiicientand simple manner the depth of the seaLthe position of the member being readily alterable for desired adjustment of 'the depth of` the seal.

A further object of the invention is the provision in such deviceof such seal breaking member to be operable as a Valving member upon movement thereof by a transfer member to compress a portion of the elastic porous plug for reducing during such action the depth of seal `be-' tween the plug and opening wall for obtaining in an eificient manner desired fraer flow of iiquid' The invention accordingly comprises the 'eatures of Construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the Construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention WH beindicated'- in the cla'ms.

For a fuller understandin'g of the natureand objects of theinventio-n, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken-in connection with the accompanying:drawing which:.

Fig 1 is a side elevational View of an embodiment of %the present inventionshowing the-same chargedrwith a body of liquid material and in dispensing, position;

Fig, 2Iis a sectional View taken on line` 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 isa fragmentary' enlarged sectional'viewwith partsin section, taken substantially along, line .3-3 *of Fig. 2, .of the' dispensing portion of, the. structure shown invFig. 1, indicating 'the.

operational functioning. of parts `duringa vali/"ing action; and

Fig; 4 isa plan view of'a preferred form'` of' aiibleeding and valving member employed in the embodini nt shown in Figs; 1 to 3,1nclusive;

Referring to the drawing, zinwhichi like parts are identified by like characters'throughout, an*

embodiment of the invention as thereinshovsm may. comprise a. suitable container, such as a bottle sle', havinga walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, such as' a neck H,

preferably provided with externalithreads 12- for. engagement bya covering, cap toclose' the device` when not in use. The inner-wall of the-neck- H is identified by reference numeral |3.'

A plug IA of porousabsorbent eiastic material,`

compr'se `a bar of rigid 'materialb'ut in'the pres ferred embodiment'consists of a U-shaped=relatively. rigid member havinglegs IT ^thereof positioned: between the plug, !4 and-the -wall` |3 apredetermined distance' extending, to, for-- ex ample, a point !8 'as indicated-in Fig'. s thereby breaking the seal to: such point andproviding therealong air' bleeding passages I 9-! 9: as' indicated in Fg. 2; As a result the depth ofseal between the plug I tand the wall l 3 -is reduced to a distance, say. that'indicated' at 20 Fig; 3, and'obviously this distance may be Varied atwill by. positioning the memberls farther into-theneck ll or withdrawingcittoadesiredextent, This 'is important for adjustment of de1ivery. ,of contained liquid material, the rate of which is depen'dent upon the head of s contained liduidon the walled opening the porosityof the plug, depth of seal between the p1ug.l4 and .thewall !3 and the characteristics -thereof the latter .also being'` in'par tdependent upon the degreeof .compressionof the plugeand inherent recovery char taking into account rate of evaporation of a par ticular liquid to be delivered, it is desired that the face of the projecting end !5 of the. plug during use be at all times moist and capable of supply of stain to be picked up by a transfer member, such as a brush 21, when the bristles thereof are wiped across the face 15. The device of the present invention has proven to be exceptionally advantageous for this purpose.

'It is to be understood that the shape of the air and/ or liquid bleeding and valving member IS is not limited to the shape shown by way of exdelivering to a transfer member, such as a brush.

a predetermined amount of liquid without exces'- sive delivery resulting in dripping of the liquid upon supporting structure.

Additional functioning of the delivery mechanism will be indicated in connection' with the following outline of operation. The container ID may suitably be provided with a body 2l of liquid material, such as stain or the like, and the container may suitably be supported upon a base 22 by any suitable means to provide a head on the opening, such as by inversion to the position indicated in Fig. 1 and so mounted by any suitable means, such as support 23 and a pair of legs 24, 24 astened on opposite sides of the neck ll to a surrounding band 25. The opening will previously be closed by the plug of porous absorbent elastic material !4 compressed and forced into the neck H to provide a depth of sealing engagement between the plug l4 and the wall 13, such as that indicated at 26 in Fig. 3. The member IG is to be inserted between the plug !4 and the wall !3 to a desired depth, such as to the point !8, the legs H, l'l of the member 16 being held securely in position between the plug M and wall !3 by reason of the resiliency of the plug material and providing passages 19-49. The depth of insertion of the member 16 may be readily adjusted at will to provide a certain rate of flow.

If such adjustment proves to be not quite adequate to give a desired rate of flow or if after. a certain amount of liquid material has been withdrawn from the container so that the head of liquid material upon the opening is reduced to such an extent as materially to slow up the rate of flow, a freer flow of liquid may be obtained by depressing the projecting end of the member IS, for example, by fulcruming it about line 21 at the lip of the neck from the dotted line position to the full line position shown in Fig. 3. This can readily be accomplished by means of the transfer member such as a brush 28 and the outer end of member lt may be depressed thereby one or more times if desired. Depression of the projecting end of the member !5 causes the inserted'legs thereof to be raised to the full line position shownin Fig. 3 depressing the adjacent material of the plug M, the outer surface of which will assume a shape such as that indicated at 29 thereby reducing the depth of seal a distance such as that indicated at 30. In addition compression of the plug material by such action of the member !6 will cause liquid contained in the pores thereof to be squeezed out to the face !5 and c'ontinuation of such action or jiggling of the member IG will cause it to act as a valving member with attendant' pumping action since upon release of the compressed plug body to its original position expansion will create a partial vacuum in pores thereof to draw additional liquid into the body andsubsequent depression will force the contained liquid out toward the face 15.

In the employment of the device of the present invention for controlled delivery of stain material for the decorating and graim'ng of pipe bowls and the like, the artist finds available at the exposed face !5 of the plug !4 a continual ample in the drawing since obviously it may comprise asingle rod or a flat piece, the form shown being preferred because of its ready adaptation to the provision of a plurality of air and/ or liquid bleeding passages 19-19 by a single rigid construction which is readily and economically manuactured. It will further be understood that the apparatus is not limited to the employment of the type of container shown since any form of container which provides a suitable head of contained liquid on a walled opening to be plugged in accordance with the teachings of the present invention will satisfy the requirements, suitable provision, of course, being made for freedom of action of the projecting member IS.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among others app'arent from the above disclosure, are attained in an eficient manner and since certain changes may be made in the above Construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of langauge, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent elastic material confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensng face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated member projecting from the opening and having an end adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide a passage between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween.

2. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interier thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent elastic material confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensng face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated member projecting from the opening and having an end adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide a valving member which upon movement by contact with a transfer member compresses said plug to reduce the depth of the seal for freer flow of liquid.

3. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled Opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent elastic material confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensing face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said piug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated member projecting from the opening and having an end adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide a passage between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween and to provide a valving member which upon movement by contact with a transfer member compresses said plug further to reduce the depth of the seal for freer fiow of liquid.

4. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of sponge rubber confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof eX- posed to provide a dispensing face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and anelongated member projecting from the opening and having an end adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide a passage between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween.

5. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of sponge rubber confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensing face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingiy engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated member projecting from the opening and having an end adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide an air passage between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween and to provide a valving member which upon movement by contact with a transfer member compresses said plug further to reduce the depth of the seal for freer flow of liquid.

6. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent elastic material confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensing face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated U-shaped member having the legs thereof adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide passages between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween. 5 7. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent eiastic material confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensing face i'or wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated U-shaped member having the legs thereof adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance, the bent portion of said member projecting beyond the dispensing face of said plug to provide a valving member which upon movement by contact between the projecting portion of said member and a transfer member compresses said plug to reduce the depth of the seal for freer flow of liquid.

8. A liquid dispensing device c mprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of porous absorbent elastic material confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensing face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wail of said opening for an appreciable depth. and an elongated U-shaped member having the legs thereof adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predeter- 40 mined distance to provide passages between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween with the bent portion of said member projecting beyond the dispensing face of said plug to provide a Valving member which upon movement by contact between the projecting portion of said member and a transfer member compresses said plug further to reduce the depth of the seal for freer flow of liquid.

9. A liquid dispensing device comprising a container having a walled opening communicating with the interior thereof, means to support said container in a position providing a head of contained liquid on the opening, a plug of sponge rubber confined within the walled opening to close the same and having an end thereof exposed to provide a dispensing face for wiping engagement by a transfer member, said plug sealingly engaging the wall of said opening for an appreciable depth, and an elongated U-shaped member having the legs thereof adjustably positioned between the wall of the opening and said plug a predetermined distance to provide passages between said plug and opening wall thereby to reduce the depth of the seal therebetween with the bent portion of said member projecting beyond the dispensing face of said plug to provide a valving member which upon movement by contact between the projecting .portion of said member and a transfer member compresses said plug further to reduce the depth of the seal for freer flow of liquid.

WALTER B. WILLIAMS. 

